In the Long Run

I don’t consider myself to be very politically involved, probably due to a lack of interest, or laziness, or both. However, I recently heard of a United States senator who impressed me.

Tom Coburn is a physician, and the junior Republican senator from Oklahoma. (He was actually born in Casper, Wyoming—interesting.) From reports I’ve read, he is a politician with integrity. (Apparently that just might not be a contradiction in terms.) Coburn was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1994, and re-elected for two terms, after which he did not run, keeping his promise to only serve three terms. That move right there earns respect in my book.

Coburn won a Senate seat in 2004, and has been a conservative voice in Washington. He doesn’t play by the “politics as usual” rules that we, the common voters, have come to expect, and in some ways, tacitly approve, by our apathy. He is one of seven Senators on the Fiscal Watch Team which identifies and decries government fiscal irresponsibility.

Coburn is a man with pure desires and goals--he says his work is to ensure that the government works efficiently and effectively. Coburn battles against pork barrel spending and earmarking in the federal budget, and he has introduced legislation to reduce overall federal government spending. On his website, he has a counter illustrating the magnitude of the national debt. It increases by thousands of dollars each second! Coburn doesn’t sponsor projects that will only benefit his state, or worry about taking credit for projects to insure his re-election. He genuinely seems to care about upholding the Constitution, and making the entire country a better place to live.

I was pleasantly surprised to read on his website that this last week he introduced the “Universal Health Care Choice and Access Act,” a comprehensive health care reform plan. Health insurance is an issue with which I’m dealing right now, and I generally agree with Coburn’s free market proposals to health care.

Dr. Coburn from Oklahoma, you’re OK by me.

Posted by Cyppy at 8:55 PM